John Caspar Wild
John Caspar Wild | |
|---|---|
 Wild's grave monument | |
| Born | Johann Caspar Wild [1] July 1, 1804 Richterswil, Switzerland |
| Died | August 12, 1846 Davenport, Iowa, U.S. |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Known for | Painting, printmaking |
John Caspar Wild (or J.C. Wild[2]) (1804 – August 12, 1846) was a Swiss-American painter and lithographer. He created early city views and landscapes of Philadelphia, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Davenport, Iowa.[2]
Wild specialized in hand-colored lithographs. These views, particularly the Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated, were some of the first depictions of the American West.
Early life
[edit]Wild was born in Richterswil in the Canton of Zürich[1] in Switzerland.
Career
[edit]He moved to Paris, France. In 1832, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] He later moved to St. Louis, Missouri.[3] In summer 1844, he moved a final time, to Davenport, Iowa, a small town in the upper Mississippi River Valley.
Wild fell gravely ill with tuberculosis[4] in the summer of 1846, and he was taken in by Davenport millinery businessman George L. Webb.[4] On his deathbed, Wild reflected upon his childhood and said that he yearned to die in homeland in Switzerland, but it was a wish that was to not be fulfilled.[4] Wild died on August 12, 1846.[5] Wild was laid to rest nearly on the banks of the river, which he had painted for years. Wild's grave site was unmarked for decades.[6]
Notable collections
[edit]- University of Pennsylvania, 1842, from collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia[2]
- Pennsylvania Hospital, circa 1840, Library Company of Philadelphia[7]
Further reading
[edit]- Reps, John William, and J. C. Wild. 2006. John Caspar Wild: painter and printmaker of nineteenth-century urban America. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press. ISBN 1-883982-55-3 Designed by Steve Hartman of Creativille, Inc. [1]
- Wild, J. C., and Lewis Foulk Thomas. 1948. The valley of the Mississippi: illustrated in a series of views, accompanied with historical descriptions. St. Louis, Mo: Joseph Garnier. (this is a reprint; original edition published 1841–2)
References
[edit]- ^ a b John Caspar Wild: Painter and Printmaker of 19th Century Urban America, John W. Reps. Page1
- ^ a b c d "University of Pennsylvania". Library Company of Philadelphia. World Digital Library. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ John Caspar Wild: Painter and Printmaker of 19th Century Urban America, John W. Reps. Page 95
- ^ a b c Geschichte der Stadt Davenport, August P. Richter, Page 293
- ^ John Caspar Wild: Painter and Printmaker of 19th Century Urban America, John W. Reps. Page 105
- ^ "Artist is the reason we know what Davenport looked like". 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Hospital". Library Company of Philadelphia. World Digital Library. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
External links
[edit]
- John Cushman Abbott Exhibit Supplement includes a discussion of Wild and his book The Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated in a Series of Views, a slide show of illustrations from the book, and a downloadable pdf of the book.
